Of Cats and Scientists
by SniperNinjaKitty
Summary: Cecil drags Carlos along to meet Khoshekh- the floating cat in the men's bathroom. However, Cecil isn't aware of how bad of an idea it is, seeing as how Carlos is actually terribly allergic to cats. (Drabble)


"Cecil, where are we going?"

"I want you to meet someone."

"...In the men's restroom?"

Yes, in the men's bathroom; it's not like the poor thing was able to go anywhere else! Carlos could be so insensitive sometimes, Cecil thought. He dragged the scientist by the hand, shouldering open the door as he lead him into the small room/

Carlos sighed. "Cecil, I appreciate the thought, but I'm not, uh, quite sure that the restroom is really the place where I would want to meet anybody. I'm not really that kind of guy." He yanked his hand out of Cecil's grip. Looking around, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary- it just looked like a typical bathroom. A typical, empty bathroom. No endless portals to other dimensions, no tentacles sprouting out of the walls, no screeching. Though he had never been in the station's bathroom before, he was sure that there were thousands of others just like it. It was nothing extraordinary, and there was definitely no one there for him to meet. Expectantly, he looked over at Cecil, who was grinning at him. "There is no one h- oh."

He had caught the figure out of the corner of his eye- the movement in the mirror. There, in front of one of the sinks, was what appeared to be a cat. A dark orange _cat_. And was it… _floating_? It let out a faint roar. "Oh… Oh! C-Cecil, there's- there's a _cat_! There, floating by the sink!"

Cecil's grin widened as he noticed the shocked expression on the scientist's face. "I know! Isn't he just precious?"

The look on Carlos' face dropped, being replaced with a look of worry. "You knew about this?"

"Of course I did." Cecil trotted over to where the cat was standing- no, floating. The cat purred deeply as he scratched behind its ears. "While I'm not usually much of a cat person, I stumbled across this little guy a little while ago and have grown quite fond of him. He's sort of like the radio station's mascot now. It's a shame that he's pretty much stuck here in the bathroom, though," Cecil ranted.

If Carlos had looked worried before, his face was a picture of panic now.

"I took the liberty of naming him Khoshekh. Khoshekh- the mascot of Night Vale. I think it has a nice ring to it. What do you think, Carlos?" He looked over at the man excitedly, only to be disappointed by his reaction. Instead of looking happy, Carlos looked anything _but_ happy. This wasn't going nearly as well as he had planned! Weren't scientists supposed to actually like animals? There were always animals in their labs, anyway. Scientists could be so confusing sometimes.

"Cecil, I need to leave. _Now_." With that, the scientist whirled around and dashed out of the bathroom, labcoat billowing behind him.

The door slammed shut. Well that was strange, Cecil thought. He frowned. Even if Carlos wasn't a cat person, he didn't need to act like that- all dramatic. Why, he himself hadn't run out of the room when he had first laid eyes on the feline! After a final pat on Khoshekh's head, Cecil turned around to go track down the scientist. He would have to have some stern words with the man about his inappropriateness

After a couple of minutes of searching around, Cecil eventually found Carlos just outside of the station doors, sitting on the curb. His hands were over his face.

"Carlos," Cecil began hesitantly. He didn't know how to go about doing this, admonishing the man. How could you admonish perfection? Surely all of his other traits made up for this little incident. "Now, I know that you're a scientist and all, but that doesn't give you an excuse to-" Cecil gave out a faint gasp. Carlos had turned around to look at him, drawing his hands away from his face.

The silence between them rang heavy.

He was staring down at the ground, but his appearance was unmistakable. Tears streamed down his face from blotchy red eyes. He looked absolutely miserable. "I'm allergic to cats," Carlos wheezed. A faint smile came and went, but the man kept his gaze locked on the ground.

Oh.

Oh, his beautiful Carlos! Without paying any attention the the dirt that would most certainly be plastered to his pants, Cecil collapsed to the ground. Like an overprotective mother, he pulled the scientist into his arms. He'd done this to him! If only he had asked ahead of time. If only he had known!

"Cecil."

If only he had asked Carlos how he felt about cats beforehand! "I'm so sorry," he fussed.

"Cecil."

Oh, if only Khoshekh had been in the women's bathroom instead. Then this would have never happened! Carlos would not have been plagued with this swarm of allergies, his perfect dark eyes never been clouded!

"_Cecil." _Carlos pulled away from his iron embrace, pushing him to an arm's length in order to be able to address him properly. "I'm fine. Just give me a... minute."

Cecil's look was one of puzzlement and concern. He certainly didn't _seem_ fine, what with the way he was panting. Relenting, Cecil pulled his arms away from Carlos' shoulders, giving him space as let out a sneeze.

"It's no big deal, really. It just happens whenever I get around cats, or if… heaven forbid... they lick or scratch me. I have an allergic reaction to the glycoproteins secreted by their... sebaceous glands."

"I get it." He didn't actually get it.

Pulling up the sleeves of his labcoat, Carlos dabbed at his watery eyes. "But thank you for your concern."

Cecil nodded. "So is this allergic thing with all cats, or only the floating ones?"


End file.
